November 20, 2022
Gospel – January 9, 2020 – Luke 4:14-22
Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit,
and news of him spread throughout the whole region.
He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all.
He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up,
and went according to his custom
into the synagogue on the sabbath day.
He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah.
He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.
Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down,
and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.
He said to them,
“Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
And all spoke highly of him
and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.
Jesus has been out in the countryside seeing for himself what’s happening. What he sees is why he came. So many poor. So many displaced. So many hungry. So much of the needy neglected.
So he goes to the Temple on Sabbath, chosen to read and is given the scroll of Isaiah. He goes to the the section dealing with what he has been seeing – out there – not in the safety of the temple.
I can just imagine “how” he then said, “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” Was there disappointment in the leadership? Was there a bit of urgency to get out there to bring the Good News? Was there a bit of steel in his eyes and in his voice?
Probably a little bit of all of that.
It’s frustrating to see the people hurting while leadership buries itself in a siege mentality.
Recognize what you aren’t doing and go “out there” and do it.
At least that’s what I heard Him say…
What I Heard Him Say 